Abstract
How should you fold a triangular piece of paper, satisfying some constraints and optimizing an objective function?
We hope you enjoy the interplay among geometry, algebra, trigonometry and calculus as we solve the problems, and be inspired to pose and solve more problems.
Suggested Reading
James Stewart, Calculus, 8 ed., Boston, MA: Cengage Learning, p.268, 2016.
Anil Kumar, Calculus: Application of Derivatives. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WL7o7p09R0o
Eric W. Weisstein, Optimize the length of the crease of a folded piece of paper, MathWorld—A Wolfram Web Resource. https://demonstrations.wolfram.com/.
Stack Exchange: Mathematics, Folding a rectangular paper and finding the area of the triangle so formed. https://math.stackezchange.com/questions/1092941.
Paper folding: Maximizing the area of a triangle, Leading to Success in Algebra 2 Workshop 2003. https://studylib.net/doc/5888914/.
Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, Mathematics of paper folding. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematics_of_paper_folding.
Jyotirmoy Sarkar, Slicing a prism optimally: Motivating students to study calculus. Blackboard—The Bulletin of the Mathematics Teachers’ Association (India). To appear.
Eric W. Weisstein, Cubic Formula, MathWorld—A Wolfram Web Resource. https://mathworld.wolfram.com/CubicFormula.html.
J. Makesh Pravin, When are the roots of a cubic real?, Resonance: Journal of Science Education, Vol.5, No.5, pp.86–89, 2000.
Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, The Law of Sines. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_sines.
H. Dörrie, The Delian Cube-Doubling Problem, §35 in 100 Great Problems of Elementary Mathematics: Their History and Solutions, New York: Dover, pp.170–172, 1965.
R. Courant and H. Robbins, What Is Mathematics?: An Elementary Approach to Ideas and Methods, 2nd ed., Revised by Ian Stewart, Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, pp.117, 125–127, 330–331, 346–352, 1996.
Acknowledgement
I sincerely thank the members of the Journeymen friends group who participated in a paper folding experiment. Thanks are due to an anonymous referee who wrote some encouraging remarks and the Editor who suggested an improvement.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Jyotirmoy Sarkar is a Professor working at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. His research areas include enumeration, probability, statistics, and reliability theory. He enjoys reading,’ riting,’ rithmetic and R-coding.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sarkar, J. Folding a Triangle — Optimally. Reson 28, 1549–1567 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12045-023-1690-5
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12045-023-1690-5